MIAMI, May 23, 2017 /3BL Media/–Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world’s largest leisure travel company, has been named one of the top 100 Best Corporate Citizens for 2017 by Corporate Responsibility Magazine (CRM).

Carnival Corporation ranked number 23 in CRM's 18th annual survey, a significant improvement from last year’s ranking at number 51. The company achieved the highest rank in corporate responsibility among firms in the travel and tourism sector and was the only cruise-specific company to make the list, which uses as its base the Russell 1000 Index of the 1,000 largest U.S. public companies. This marked Carnival Corporation’s fifth time in the past seven years to be recognized with the 100 Best Corporate Citizens distinction.

Of all companies on the 100 Best Corporate Citizens list, Carnival Corporation ranked in the top quarter in two categories: environmental (at number 16) and governance (at number 23). The environmental category includes environmental disclosure, policy disclosure and performance. The governance category is how a company establishes policies, policing itself and its employees from the top executives on down.

"As the world’s leading cruise company with 10 global brands, we have a deep commitment and have made it a top corporate priority to preserve and respect the environment and communities in which we operate, while returning value to our shareholders,” said Roger Frizzell, chief communications officer for Carnival Corporation. “Being recognized by the highly regarded Corporate Responsibility Magazine is a great honor for all 120,000 of our employees at Carnival Corporation. Making the CRM list is a major accomplishment alone, but being named one of the top 25 companies in America for corporate responsibility is particularly rewarding and provides plenty of incentive to continue our progress.”

Citing transparency and accountability, CRM evaluates U.S. public companies in seven categories, including environment, climate change, employee relations, human rights, governance, finance and philanthropy/community support. The magazine's research team rates the 100 Best Corporate Citizens after compiling 260 data points for all companies on the Russell 1000 Index, with all the data gleamed from publically available information.

“Being a good corporate citizen is a goal of most leading organizations, but actually achieving this can be a challenge in today’s business climate," said Belinda Sharr, editor of Corporate Responsibility Magazine. "When a company such as Carnival Corporation succeeds at being transparent, responsible and accountable in areas such as the environment, while also succeeding financially, they are rewarded with a spot on our coveted list."

Carnival Corporation was also winner of a 2016 Ladder Award, recognizing companies that have advanced the most places on the CRM list and made the most dramatic developments in their commitment to corporate responsibility and social impact.